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Audi Q7 hybrid not for the US
By Yoann Besnard on 26 March 2008 | 
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The Q7 hybrid was expected to go on sale from next year on the American market, but Audi has announced that the hybrid SUV won’t cross the Atlantic ocean as its selling price would be too high there.
In an interview with Automotive News, Johan de Nysschen, Audi's brand head in the U.S, has revealed that the carmaker won’t bring the hybrid-powered Q7. However the company plans to sell it on special order. “It was a very hard car to make the numbers work. We will not do the hybrid Q7 as a conventional product offering," told Johan de Nysschen to the newspaper.
Expected to weigh in €50,000 in Europe, the Q7 would cost around $78,000 in the US while a hybrid GMC Yukon only costs $50,000. It seems that Audi doesn't believe people are ready to pay a $28,000 extra for the quality of the Q7. The hybrid Q7 is powered by a 272bhp 3.6-litre FSI petrol engine and a 51bhp electric motor. The carmaker claims the hybrid Q7 achieves 28mpg and emits 237g CO2/km.
The company doesn’t mention the recent sales drop in the large SUVs segment as one of the reason to drop off the hybrid Q7 in the US. However, the company plans to focus on the Q5 hybrid which won’t also be sold at a competitive price due to the weak dollar. Maybe, Audi doesn’t see any future for big SUVs.